New acoustic technique offers osteoarthritis diagnosis potential

UK scientists have developed a new acoustic medical assessment technique that could facilitate the diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis in future.

Led by Lancaster University, the project involved collaboration with the University of Central Lancashire, Manchester University, the NHS and industry partners, with a £560,000 grant from the Medical Research Council helping to support the work.

The technique involves affixing microphones to the knees of patients and measuring the high-frequency sound waves emanating from their knees as they stand up. This acoustic data is then interpreted by computer software to reveal insights into the health of the patient's knee.

It is thought that this method can be used to create a portable device that could be used by GPs, doctors and nurses to assess patients with knee osteoarthritis regularly to see whether the knee is changing or responding to treatment.

More than 200 patients with various types of osteoarthritis are currently being recruited in order to further evaluate the potential of this approach. Interpreting body sounds represents a brand new way of assessing disease and is a field in which UK researchers are leading the way.

John Goodacre, professor of musculoskeletal science at Lancaster University, said: "Potentially, this could transform the ways in which knee osteoarthritis is assessed and treated. Unlike an MRI scan, this approach can tell you what happens when the joint moves and it can also measure how the knee is changing over time."

An Arthritis Research UK spokesperson said: "We welcome the development of this interesting study as it will provide an alternative, cost-effective and non-invasive method of diagnosing and monitoring osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions in a primary care setting. This method has the potential to improve the diagnosis of various forms of the condition in the near future, but further work is required to ensure the accuracy of the assessments."

Arthritis Research UK has funded research that could lead to a device for GPs to detect osteoarthritis and monitor its progression by listening to the noises emitted by their knees. A two-year study involving 50 people showed that the sound waves made by the knees of healthy people were different to those with osteoarthritis of the knee.

It is hoped that this will reduce the need for MRI scanners or other expensive and less accessible techniques.

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